Small-Business Confidence Edges Up, but Remains Low

Small-business owner confidence edged higher in September, but only because negative subindexes were less bad last month, according to data released Tuesday.

The National Federation of Independent Business‘s small-business optimism index increased to 88.9 in September, from 88.1 in August. The September advance was the first increase following six-consecutive declines. Even with the gain, the NFIB said the index remains a “solid recession reading.”

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